CAS Observer’s Challenge

A user-friendly observing schedule with mainly binocular deep sky objects, the visible planets and some of the more prominent features of the Moon. A tripod for your binoculars will greatly improve your Lunar observing.

The challenge is to find the deep sky objects using binoculars or a telescope, only May and September a scope is needed, (just use mine at an observing session if you don’t have one) and describe them and log the date. Find the visible planets and draw them including visible surface features and moons, Venus while showing none of its surface has interesting phases fun to notice. Mars is too far to show much. Jupiter has bands and zones and the Great Red Spot along with four bright moons all in dynamic motion easily noticed in just an hour of observing. Saturn with its system of rings and moons and shadow of the rings on the surface are always a beautiful sight but you need a scope to see it. Finally find and draw a bakers dozen of the most prominent features of our Moon.The drawings need only outline the feature, nothing elaborate and there you have it. Old timers get to help the novice observers and we’ll all learn to be better observers by the lunar drawings.

January
M-36, open cluster, mag.6, Auriga
M-37, open cluster, mag.5.6 Auriga
M-38, open cluster, mag.6.4 Auriga NGC 1907 seen in same field with scope
Theophilus and Cyrillus

The Charlottesville Astronomical Society will hold its Heidi’s Night Activity for students grades 4 – 12 and parents interested in Astronomy on Friday, November 30th from 7 to 8:30 pm at the McCormick Observatory on the grounds of the University of Virginia. The event honors the memory CAS member Heidi Winter, former executive secretary to the Director of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory, who passed away in 2012. Attendees will have the opportunity to participate in four activities during the evening. These include:

A laser tour of the night sky

A classroom activity

Viewing the night sky though the historic 26” Clark refractor

View the night sky through a home-built 4” scope

Registration is required. For more information or to register, please click here to email Steve Layman. In case of inclement weather, the evening may be shortened and activities would be limited to indoors.